# Handicapped license plate on a motorcycle? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780 "2013-11-13T03:00:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/1 "2013-11-13T03:00:53Z")
Not sure if this is the right place for this, but frankly, i couldn’t figure out where this would go. Maybe GQ, but i’ll start it here. I saw a motorcycle with a handicapped license plate, the little mc sized plate with the wheelchair stamped on it and everything. It was a permanent plate. So the obvious question I have is how can someone be handicapped and ride a motorcycle? I’m not talking about the occasional recreational ride on private property. I’m talking about a bike that someone is using for regular transportation. What kind of handicap could you have that permitted the issuing of a permanent tag for your bike, but you were physically capable of operating a motorcycle? I thought the handicap plate had to be approved by a doctor, (ie the form requires a doctor to sign off on your need for the special plates and they define your condition.). Wouldn’t any condition permitting you access to a handicapped plate keep you from being able to ride a motorcycle on the street in traffic? By the way, i’m not trying to insult anyone here, especially the handicapped. I’m genuinely curious of the answer to this. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/2 "2013-11-13T03:05:38Z")
You can be normally confined to a wheelchair, yet still ride a motorcycle. Exactly how you’d get from the parking lot at Wal-Mart to the inside of the store is a challenge, but not insurmountable. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/3 "2013-11-13T03:13:55Z")
A handicap tag does not automatically mean that the person is confined to a wheelchair. You could have walking trouble or some other mobility issue that didn’t affect your ability to control a bike. My father had handicap tags long before he was in a wheelchair simply because he couldn’t walk more than a few hundred feet in one go. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/4 "2013-11-13T03:16:02Z")
A left leg amputee can operate a heel-toe shifter by stomping on it, no need to flex an ankle. I’ve also seen a sidecar platform that holds a wheelchair and the bike controls are attached to controls on the platform. In Ca., some conditions ( like a missing limb) are exempt from a doctor’s certification. Just go the DMV and show 'em. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/5 "2013-11-13T03:19:01Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > You can be normally confined to a wheelchair, yet still ride a motorcycle. Exactly how you’d get from the parking lot at Wal-Mart to the inside of the store is a challenge, but not insurmountable. How? I used to ride motorcycles, and they required 2 hands and 2 feet to operate. Lets say you can operate a bike now with just your hands. Shifting, braking, signaling, acceleration, everything you have to do to operate a bike safely is done with your arms and hands. Ok, how do you park? How do you get on and off the bike in normal situations? Your example of Wal-mart is perfect. You drive to a store to pick up a few small things. How do you get off the bike, put down the kickstand, and get into the store? You can’t carry a wheelchair with you. If you can operate a bike, doesn’t that presuppose the use of your legs? You need to use your legs to balance the bike in traffic, like when you are sitting at a stop light. You take your legs off the pegs and put them on the ground. This isn’t casual usage.. This is something that requires some strength. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/6 "2013-11-13T03:23:00Z")
Have you looked up the requirements in your state? (Or the state that the plate was issued in?) In my state, conceivably \*any \*of the qualifying conditions would not neccesarily bar a person from riding a motorcycle: > [@](#): > > When considering a patient’s eligibility for the program, a licensed physician must certify that the applicant has one of the following six specific medical conditions that severely impairs his or her ability to walk. (Note: “Cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest” is no longer a qualifying disability, unless it is related to one of the following conditions.) To qualify, the patient must: > • Be restricted by lung disease to such a degree that forced (respiratory) expiratory volume (fEV) in one second, when measured by spirometry, is less > than one liter. > • Use portable oxygen. > • have a Class III or Class IV cardiac condition according to standards set by the American heart Association. > • Be unable to walk without the assistance of another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device. > • Be severely limited in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition. > • have permanently lost the use of or be missing a hand or arm [http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf\_publications/vsd688.pdf](http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/vsd688.pdf) The qualifications have to do with endurance to walk much once you get to your destination, not operating the vehicle. Not having ridden myself, I’ll take your word for it that two hands and two feet are required for a standard motorcycle but A) adaptations can be made for custom bikes and B) prosthetics work awfully well these days. I’m certain a man with a prosthetic leg can ride a motorcycle, 'cause my friend with a prosthetic leg rides a motorcycle. So maybe he needs two feet, but only one that he was born with. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/7 "2013-11-13T03:26:58Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > How? I used to ride motorcycles, and they required 2 hands and 2 feet to operate. I had a neighbor who was confined to a wheelchair, and he drove a car. His car was specially equipped with hand-operated controls instead of foot-operated ones. No reason why a motorcycle couldn’t be so equipped. And I had another elderly neighbor who was mostly in a wheelchair, but she could use her legs enough that (I suppose) she could have operated a motorcycle. And another who had trouble walking, but rode a 3-wheeled tricycle (pedal kind). “Handicapped” doesn’t necessarily mean severe mobility restrictions; I was just suggesting some ways that mobily-handicapped people could operate “normal” machinery. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/8 "2013-11-13T03:36:38Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Ok, how do you park? How do you get on and off the bike in normal situations? Your example of Wal-mart is perfect. You drive to a store to pick up a few small things. How do you get off the bike, put down the kickstand, and get into the store? You can’t carry a wheelchair with you… Not that I think this was the case, but I’ve seen at least one setup where the bike had outriggers that could automatically deploy and retract either on command or at a preset speed. No legs needed. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/9 "2013-11-13T04:21:44Z")
> **[Left Side Story: A Double-Amputee Keeps His Racing Dreams Alive - Video -...](https://blog.motorcycle.com/2012/10/11/videos/lef-side-story-a-double-amputee-keeps-his-racing-dreams-alive-video/)** > > Australian rider Alan Kempster lost his right arm and leg in 1990 when an intoxicated truck driver crashed into his motorcycle. The accident changed \[...\] This guy is missing an arm and a leg. Does that count as handicapped enough for you? ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/10 "2013-11-13T04:25:40Z")
Thanks all! I was completely clueless on this one, but your answers gave me more than enough of an idea that it would be possible. I didn’t even think of the person who may be an amputee, but has a new prosthetic that can handle weight. Also I didn’t think of someone who could maybe walk short distances, but long distances are too painful. That is something I believe would fit the criteria. I don’t know why it was so hard for me to come up with a scenario, but I thank you all for the replies. I guess i was thinking "where would the wheel chair/walker/walking aid be stored on a bike? Pretty myopic of me. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/11 "2013-11-13T04:28:05Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Zhh6-xY6I) In case the first link didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/12 "2013-11-13T04:28:56Z")
If someone can use their prosthetic leg well enough to ride a motorcycle why can’t they walk well enough not to need a handicapped spot ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/13 "2013-11-13T04:32:08Z")
When I was on crutches (with a handicapped tag) for a shattered heal, I could have ridden a motorcycle. I didn’t, but I could have. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/14 "2013-11-13T04:38:38Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > If someone can use their prosthetic leg well enough to ride a motorcycle why can’t they walk well enough not to need a handicapped spot There’s a HELL of a lot of difference between what it takes to operate a pedal occasionally and what it takes to walk a fair distance. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/15 "2013-11-13T04:39:08Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > If someone can use their prosthetic leg well enough to ride a motorcycle why can’t they walk well enough not to need a handicapped spot well depends, sometimes walking places major pain on the stump but hey we are dealing with a country that has 11m people on disability insurance… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/16 "2013-11-13T04:52:43Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > If someone can use their prosthetic leg well enough to ride a motorcycle why can’t they walk well enough not to need a handicapped spot Because most people have prostheses that don’t fit all that well, so they chafe and cause sores if you walk in them too much. Prostheses are incredibly expensive, and require new fittings and often total replacements if you gain weight, lose weight, your stump swells or shrinks, and periodically just because the padding begins to compress and change shape. So people without a lot of money tend to wear ill fitting prostheses longer than they would have to in a just world. They’ll stay on, and tolerate some degree of movement, but walking is the hardest thing on them, structurally speaking, and the hardest on the skin, bone and muscle at the stump. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/17 "2013-11-13T05:06:47Z")
My aunt has a tag for her car and all her limbs work. But she’s got a heart condition that limits her ability to walk very far. If she had been a rider before she was bad off enough to get a tag she probably would have been able to continue riding for a while. Maybe not now. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/18 "2013-11-13T05:16:06Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Have you looked up the requirements in your state? (Or the state that the plate was issued in?) In my state, conceivably \*any \*of the qualifying conditions would not neccesarily bar a person from riding a motorcycle: > > \< Criteria in **WhyNot** ’s state cited here \> What about blindness? They don’t allow handicapped plates for blindness? Srsly. Can a fully able driver get handicapped plates if there is someone else in the family who is seriously handicapped (e.g., blind) that you routinely drive around? If I’m not mistaken, you can do that in CA. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/19 "2013-11-13T06:15:02Z")
Shit, a good 95% of the people who have handicap plates around here don’t have much of a mobility issue other than one, inevitable “disability”: old age. And old people can still ride motorcycles too. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780/20 "2013-11-13T06:26:41Z")
Something my mom used to remind me about when I was little and point out people that parked in handicapped spots that didn’t appear to need them is that some people use them because that have breathing issues. Now, I’m sure the people that I was pointing to didn’t actually need them, but she just didn’t want me (some ten year old kid) running up and calling out some person in a parking lot just to find out that they had emphysema or something like that. So that’s another possibility. Yet another one would be someone that had surgery and convinced the doctor do give them plates instead of a temporary placard since there’s no good place to put a placard on a bike. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handicapped-license-plate-on-a-motorcycle/673780.md?page=2)